(Photo courtesy of Netflix)
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Squid Game Season 3.
Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett surprised Squid Game fans when she made a cameo in the third season, wearing a suit and playing ddakji with a person in an alleyway—just like The Recruiter in Korea.
Although the deadly game has ended in Seoul, her appearance hints at a chilling possibility: the competition is heading to America.
Long-awaited by many fans, the series quickly drew global attention for its new characters and unexpected twists following its release last Friday, June 27.
In a short but impactful scene, Blanchett sharply slaps the stranger after winning the Korean flip card game, then stares intensely at In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), who watches the encounter from a car while stopped at a red light.
The audience of the Korean thriller was not the only one stunned by the unexpected appearance; even the cast was caught off guard.
In a video shared by Squid Game via Instagram, the cast, except Lee Byung-hun, gasped in shock as they watched the scene unfold, making remarks like “No way!” “Is this real?” and I just got goosebumps.”
Some even joked that if they had known the actress would be in the show, they would have shown up at the set to see her.
Netflix also uploaded Blanchett’s scene on TikTok, where fans wrote in the comment section their reactions like, “CATE BLANCHETT BEING IN SQUID GAME IS ICONIC,” and “Squid game USA is gonna be wild.”
In an interview with Netflix, creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk shared the reason behind the casting choice: “We thought having a woman as a recruiter would be more dramatic and intriguing.”
“And as for why Cate Blanchett, she’s just the best, with unmatched charisma. Who doesn’t love her? So we were very happy to have her appear. We needed someone who could dominate the screen with just one or two words, which is exactly what she did.” He added.
Hwang further explained, “If Gong Yoo is the Korean Recruiter, I thought she would be the perfect fit as the American Recruiter, bringing a short but gripping and impactful ending to the story.”
The scene reignited rumors of a potential American spin-off. Some reports claimed that acclaimed director David Fincher, known for Fight Club and Gone Girl, is developing a U.S. adaptation of Squid Game.
However, Netflix has not yet made any official announcement about the show’s continuation.
Still, Hwang confirmed to TheWrap that “season three is not going to be the end of the Squid Game universe.”